Chapter 19: The Specially Crafted Password

Chapter 19: Specially Designed Code Words

(Part One)

“I think I roughly understand now,” Teacher Bai nodded slightly, pondering as he spoke. “I understand Japanese, but my specialty is mainly geological exploration and surveying. For someone with no foundation like you—a blank slate—ah, I honestly wasn’t sure how to proceed…”

Guan Shan smiled politely, inwardly muttering that he couldn’t exactly reveal he wasn’t a blank slate. Since birth, he’d been immersed in language learning, rigorously following the critical period for language acquisition. By about six, he had already undergone multilingual reading and oral training; by under ten years old, he had passed level six in Japanese, and also studied English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, Italian, and Portuguese…

After a moment, Teacher Bai looked at Guan Shan and said, “Comrade Xiao Guan, I just remembered—later I’ll ask County Magistrate Wang!”

“County Magistrate Wang? That might not be a good idea. She’s so busy,” Guan Shan frowned.

It wasn’t about Teacher Bai or Magistrate Wang, but rather Guan Shan felt that if the plot insisted on so many interactions with Magistrate Wang, it probably wouldn’t bode well. Like in films and literature, whenever two people are strongly connected and interacting, there’s always a dramatic twist—breakups and divorces in slice-of-life dramas, or death and separation in war stories…

“Oh, Magistrate Wang doesn’t speak Japanese,” Teacher Bai explained. “But I remember she has a propaganda officer under her command, a young woman—I can’t quite recall her name.”

“Ge San,” Guan Shan said. “She was transferred along with Medical Officer Liu Jun under Magistrate Wang. I remember her. Does she speak Japanese?”

“Yes, yes, Ge San! Little Ge was specially dispatched from headquarters… Oh, I need to ask Magistrate Wang first and see if we can have Ge-san be your teacher!” Teacher Bai trailed off.

“Headquarters?” Guan Shan’s mind raced as he looked at Teacher Bai. “Oh, I get it. Your geological survey in that remote mountain valley is probably for starting mining or a factory. Then, engineers or experts might include Japanese... Never mind, sorry, Teacher Bai, just pretend I didn’t say anything!”

Seeing Teacher Bai’s astonished expression, Guan Shan quickly tapped his mouth.

“Well done, Xiao Guan!” Teacher Bai praised with a curious gaze, hesitating as if wanting to say more.

“Teacher Bai, I’ll be going now. Please take care on my behalf!”

“Alright, Xiao Guan, you don’t need to worry! I’ll discuss with Magistrate Wang, don’t worry. I understand your idea. In two or three days, once I’ve spoken with her, I’ll come to the regiment to see you!”

“Thank you so much, Teacher Bai!” Guan Shan stood at attention and saluted.

(Part Two)

“You damn wastrel!” Li Yunlong cursed gruffly. “The grenade exploded and you still had to finish with that turtle box, firing two shots! Damn it, just bayonet them and save yourself the trouble! You useless bastard!”

Brother Monk Wei joked from the side, “Yeah, Guan Shan, think about it—if you hadn’t fired those two extra shots, when this story got out, we’d say we never even practiced live-fire. First time shooting ever, one bullet takes out two enemy soldiers—that’d be quite a boast!”

No matter how much Li Yunlong and Brother Monk mocked, Guan Shan was unshaken. He stood firm, aiming his rifle, with two large mud bricks tied to the barrel with leg wraps.

Sweat beaded on his forehead; he felt numbness spreading through his shoulders, upper arms, and forearms…

“Wobbling! Wobbling already! Look at you, good-for-nothing, can’t even hold on a moment. What kind of soldier are you? What kind of gun do you need? Might as well buy a block of tofu and bash your head in!” Li Yunlong spat curses and taunts.

Beside the shooting range, Chen Bo turned to Zhao Gang with a strange expression and whispered, “How did Guan Shan offend Captain Li? Or is this how your independent regiment always trains?”

Zhao Gang shook his head helplessly. “Captain Li says it’s to train Xiao Guan’s willpower. He and Brother Monk came up with this rapid training method just for him. Said I don’t need to interfere. It’s been over half a month now! Haha.”

“Oh, I see. So it’s a willing give-and-take!” Chen Bo laughed. “I think Comrade Xiao Guan is kind of enjoying it, haha!”

Guan Shan shouted curses in Japanese: “Baka! Shōwa!”

Chen Bo was momentarily stunned.

Guan Shan continued: “Iyarashii! Shōwa!”

“How does he know Japanese?” Chen Bo looked at Zhao Gang warily.

“Ha! He just started learning. Last time we encountered Japanese scouts dressed as Eighth Route Army soldiers. Although he sensed something was off, he fired without confirming to avoid risk. He was so nervous he had nightmares for days afterward,” Zhao Gang explained, pointing at Guan Shan. “Fortunately, we have Teacher Bai from the local area and Propaganda Officer Ge-san who both speak Japanese. Now there’s a crash course in Japanese, and many soldiers have signed up.”

“Dekisokonai! Shōwa!”

(Part Three)

Guan Shan continued cursing one after another. Chen Bo, puzzled, asked, “If you’re learning Japanese, why curse instead of just studying?”

Zhao Gang shook his head and explained, “The soldiers themselves decided that when going out on missions, they’ll use Japanese curses directed at the Emperor as code words…”

Chen Bo chuckled and shook his head in admiration. “Damn, this kid’s a real talent!”

“Debudebu! Shōwa!”

“You damn well learned your Japanese fast! What does that prove, huh? Monk, what do you say?”

“Captain, it proves that Shan Zi is skilled with his tongue!”

“Ha ha ha, you monk, your mouth’s really sharp! Shan Zi, I’m not trying to egg you on, but don’t let Monk look down on you. Don’t tremble! Steady! Don’t just flap your gums!”

“Hetakuso! Shōwa!”

“Political Commissar Zhao, have you thoroughly checked out Guan Shan’s background?” Chen Bo asked.

Zhao Gang smiled. “He’s from Niushan Village nearby, twenty this year, never been further than the county seat, and only been there a handful of times. His background is simple. Since the war began, their village has been ravaged by Japanese puppet troops three times. Several young men from his village joined the independent regiment during the recent large mobilization, while others who weren’t selected went to the county battalion.”

“Oh, I see,” Chen Bo said, nodding toward the training ground. “Looks like Li Yunlong really cares about this kid!”

“That’s enough for the morning!” Li Yunlong laughed heartily, slapping Guan Shan’s shoulder hard. Guan Shan let out a pained scream and collapsed.

“Don’t just lie there playing dead! Ha ha ha! Monk, drag him up and have him jog two laps around the training ground to loosen up!”

Welcome to bookmark and recommend! Wishing you a smooth and peaceful Qingming holiday.

(End of chapter)